Deafening crowd takes over Hearnes

Saturday

Sep 15, 2018 at 12:01 AM

Lines of school buses were parked outside the Hearnes Center nearly 45 minutes before Missouri’s home opener against Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Emptying those school buses was a horde of elementary school kids who were bouncing with excitement. Their class field trip got not only got them out of the classroom, but allowed them to go watch the Missouri volleyball team.

Missouri’s official attendance was 1,650 in the opening match of the Mizzou Invitational. Most of those were the kids who, despite not knowing what was going on, yelled each time the public address announcer said “Point Mizzou.”

Though the Hearnes Center wasn’t filled to capacity, the energy brought by the kids was deafening. It was loud enough that senior Alyssa Munlyn said she couldn’t hear herself think during points of the game.

“But thanks,” Munlyn said after saying she couldn't think. “They were into it the whole time. That’s the thing I miss the most, the energy. You don’t find that at other gyms.”

Friday afternoon was the first time Missouri held an Elementary Day for the kids to come watch the volleyball team. Multiple elementary schools from around Columbia brought their classes to the game.

While it gave Missouri a chance to play in front of a crowd, in an 11 a.m. game which normally wouldn’t have drawn a large audience, it also gave the kids a chance to watch players they looked up to.

During the team’s introduction, each starter had a t-shirt to throw into the stands. After throwing it the players ran around the bleachers to give the kids a high five.

Sophomore Dariana Hollingsworth didn’t throw her t-shirt though. She started her run around the bleachers with a shirt in hand. As she neared the end of her run, she handed the shirt to a young girl. Immediately, the girl’s face lit up out of excitement.

"I think that's super humbling," Munlyn said. "At the end of the day, we were just like them. To them it’s like this big thing and we are like, ‘This could be you.’”

That’s the same message head coach Wayne Kreklow preached after the Tigers defeated Texas A&M Corpus Christi 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-17.) They could play college sports one day as well, Kreklow said, but the education piece comes first.

While the event was an obvious good time for the kids, Kreklow thought the event, which completely overshadowed Missouri's game, was just as important for the players.

“It’s really important for them to understand that there are real kids out there that do watch what they do,” he said. “We have had a lot of conversations about things that our kids often don’t think about, like social media stuff, the stuff you are posting, what you like, retweet and what you favorite. That type of stuff has an impact. … It’s good for them to see there are real kids out there.”

In the on-court action, Missouri jumped out to a strong start taking the first set from the Islanders 25-16. The second set got a little sloppy, but the Tigers held off the Islanders 25-23.

The energy and sight of hundreds of “Point Mizzou” posters helped during the match.

“You get times when you are in the trenches over there and it’s hard to get yourself out of that, but when you see those kids, and you see people smiling and cheering, you can’t help but get on board,” Munlyn said.

Missouri eventually closed out the final set 25-17. Missouri defeated Ohio University 3-1 (25-23 21-25, 25-18, 25-12.) Friday night to improve to 9-2 and will cap its non-conference schedule Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. against Drake.

Though what happens on the floor is important, Kreklow and the players know there is improvement to be made before Southeastern Conference play begins next week, the scene Friday afternoon stole the show.

After the game, the Missouri players went around thanking many of the kids for coming. Some, including outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh, were even signing autographs.

Then the buses lined back up. The kids filed back on, waving goodbye to the kids on other buses and were on their way back to school.

The Hearnes Center quieted down, but if Kreklow has it his way, the kids will be back sooner rather than later.

“I think it was a good start, so hopefully they had a good experience,” he said. “You always kind of start with what you get and hope you do a good job that they’ll go back and say ‘Hey we took our kids you guys have to go next year,’ so we continue to build on that.”

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